Byrne Interchange construction project ramps up

Construction on the northwest flyover from the Dan Ryan Expressway to the Eisenhower Expressway is scheduled to begin Saturday. Photo: Illinois Department of Transportation

Construction work is ramping up again on the expressways around UIC — and it is expected to continue over the next 12 months with numerous detours and traffic modifications.

Commuters driving to and from UIC, particularly the east side of campus, should expect significant delays, said Michael Landek, executive associate vice chancellor for administrative services. Changes to the construction project may occur daily, so caution should be used when walking or driving through work zones.

Construction of the “flyover” connecting the inbound Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) with the outbound Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) is scheduled to begin Tuesday and continue until July 2016. Existing expressway ramps will be closed and the number of lanes will be reduced.

Water main work in Harrison Field (at the corner of Halsted and Harrison Streets) is scheduled to begin immediately pending city approval. The campus is developing plans to accommodate students moving out of residence halls at the end of the semester.

Here’s a list of upcoming Illinois Department of Transportation projects:

THE FLYOVER

• Inbound ramp from the Dan Ryan to the outbound Eisenhower will remain open but shift to a temporary roadway.

• Inbound ramp from the Dan Ryan to inbound Congress Parkway will be closed. Traffic from Roosevelt Road will be detoured to Jefferson Street, from Jefferson Street to Harrison Street, and Harrison Street to Wells Street.

• Ramp from Roosevelt Road to Congress Parkway will be closed. Traffic will follow the Jefferson/Harrison/Wells detour. Traffic from the outbound Eisenhower will be detoured from Roosevelt Road to the west to Ashland Avenue, and north to Van Buren Street.

• Ramp from Taylor Street to the inbound Dan Ryan will be closed. Traffic will be detoured north on Jefferson Street to Adams Street.

• Right lane of the inbound Dan Ryan will be closed from the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) to Roosevelt Road.

• Inbound and outbound Stevenson ramps to the Dan Ryan will be reduced from two lanes to one.

INTERCHANGE SHUTDOWN

The entire Jane Byrne Interchange will experience a near-total shutdown during four weekends in the summer or fall while beams for the flyover are installed. During those weekends, all lanes of the Eisenhower and Congress Parkway will be closed and almost two miles of the Dan Ryan will be reduced to one lane in each direction. IDOT has not determined the four weekends for shutdown.

BRIDGE PROJECTS

• June 1: lane switch for the Halsted Street Bridge over the Dan Ryan

• August: completion of CTA Blue Line Station and Peoria Street Bridge/Pedestrian Walkway over the Eisenhower

• late fall 2015: completion of the Halsted Street Bridge

• late fall 2015: completion of Harrison Street Bridge over the Dan Ryan.

Editor’s note: start date for the flyover project, first scheduled to begin Saturday, was updated to Tuesday.